The present invention relates a transistor operating mode and, more specifically, to operation of a transistor in a resonant mode which is communicable with minimal loss to an attached device.
A junction transistor is a three layer sandwich of semiconductor material. The outer layers of the sandwich, respectively, the base and the emitter comprise a first type semiconductor material either a P-type or N-type material. Each outer layer is in contact with a central layer, the base, which comprises the second type of semiconductor material. The interface of the collector and the base forms a first PN junction, the collector-base junction, and the interface between the emitter and base forms a second PN junction, the base emitter junction. Transistors are typically used to switch and/or amplify electronic signals. The flow of a relatively large current between the collector and the emitter of the transistor can be controlled by application of a small voltage or current to the transistor's base.
By varying the bias, the voltage across the respective collector-base and base-emitter junctions, transistors can be operated in one or more of a plurality of commonly known modes When an NPN transistor is operated in the active mode, enabling a flow of current between the collector and the emitter, the collector-base junction is reverse biased, that is, the electrical potential at the collector is higher than the potential at the base, and the base-emitter junction is forward biased, that is, the electrical potential at the base exceeds the potential at the emitter by the junction forward voltage of a silicon PN junction. On the other hand, if the differential in electrical potential across the base-emitter junction is or becomes less than the junction forward voltage, the base-emitter junction is said to be reverse biased and the transistor is in the cut-off or OFF mode. The flow of current between the collector and the emitter ceases. A sufficiently great reverse bias of the base-emitter junction can produce an avalanche breakdown of the transistor producing large currents and, potentially, damaging the device. Another mode of operation, the saturation mode, is the result of excessive current flowing in the collector. As the collector current increases, the collector voltage decreases until the collector-base junction becomes forward biased and the current in the junction cannot further increase.
The inventor discovered a previously unknown and beneficial mode of transistor operation that enables a current to be conducted with extremely low loss to an attached device and causes the attached to device to perform in unexpected and useful ways.